A Former Police Officer Who Died And Get A Second Life!

Chapter 407: Small Mistakes, Gentle Corrections

"This was for Rui’s sake, right?"

Yue nodded her head.

Qiong Xing smiled and held out his hand.

This time, the small child finally came into his arms, and he gently hugged her.

"Yue is kind for trying to protect Rui. You are not wrong. You just did things a little the wrong way."

Yes, it was only the method that was wrong.

"Lian did not step on Rui on purpose either. Instead of pushing, if you had just told her to move, Lian would have understood."

"Rui was crying."

She must have reacted instinctively when she saw Rui crying.

"That’s true. But Lian, who was pushed by Yue and fell, must have been in pain too, so let’s say sorry to her as well, okay?"

Trying to protect Rui was not wrong.

But pushing Lian and making her fall was not good.

"Lian will also say sorry for stepping on Rui’s tail. Yue should also say sorry for pushing her. You are kind Yue who tried to protect Rui, so you can do that, right?"

He was not denying everything Yue had done.

If she had tried to protect Rui, then there was no reason to be angry.

He simply taught her that instead of using force, she could have spoken.

"I didn’t do anything wrong."

"You are not wrong. Yue is not wrong for trying to protect your family. But Lian and Rui were both hurt, so let’s just say sorry for that part, okay?"

"...Yeah."

Yue nodded.

Qiong Xing smiled and called Lian over, making them apologize to each other.

Lian who is still crying with her face all messy apologized and Yue also quietly apologized after finally accepting it.

"So? What do you plan to do about the Papa who punished his child without even hearing the reason?"

"...I was wrong."

Joa who had decided Yue was at fault without listening apologized awkwardly.

"To me? I have no idea what you are talking about."

Wrong target.

"Ah, uh... sorry about that, Yue. Well... sorry."

"I hate Papa."

"!"

"...just kidding."

"R, right..."

Joa visibly relaxed, and Leander and Elias, who were watching nearby, trembled with laughter.

"You three are all her fathers, so why can’t you even handle something like this?"

"..."

All three of them averted their eyes in awkward silence, and Qiong Xing let out a deep sigh.

...

"I’ve got something I want to ask you..."

"Hmm, no thanks."

"Alright. So, this is it... wait, you said no already?!"

There was no particular reason for his reaction.

If anything, Qiong Xing had just thought it might be funny, but Narka’s expression when he heard his responses was more satisfying than expected.

"Putting that aside, I also have something I want to ask you." Sergei said.

"I’ll hear it."

"Why is that?! I get rejected, but he gets a yes?!"

Narka delivered a flawless retort despite acting like the straight man, making Qiong Xing laugh out loud, while Sergei snorted as if to say it was all a matter of personality.

Qiong Xing had come to the castle that morning to help Sergei, but as usual, Narka had stormed into the room within an hour, as if he always knew when to appear.

Qiong Xing was already getting used to it, so he was not particularly surprised.

Today, he had simply decided to tease him a little in return.

"Putting aside that noisy idiot over there, about that mock battle you proposed before, I have something I need to ask."

When told it was fine even if he could not help much, Qiong Xing decided to listen properly.

"As for the event itself, things are mostly decided. However, as written in your proposal, we are planning to set up food stalls as well."

Events like tournaments and matches always took time.

That was why Qiong Xing had suggested having food and drink stalls, but apparently there was a problem.

"For common citizens, that would be fine. However, for high-nosed nobles, it is a bit problematic to expect them to accept that."

"Your Excellency, your language is getting rather rude."

Qiong Xing could not help but point it out.

"Thanks to your education."

Qiong Xing did not remember teaching anything like that.

"That was a joke. The real issue is that it would be difficult to serve food made by amateurs to picky nobles."

"Amateurs?"

Qiong Xing had assumed they would use local shops, but it seemed they were instead planning to have soldiers who were not participating in the event cook the food.

Unacceptable.

"No, no, no. We should just get help from the town’s shops."

"That would be ideal, but many stores are reluctant when nobles are involved."

Nobles were truly... troublesome.

Most shops did not want to risk damaging their reputation by serving something subpar.

However, having soldiers cook was also out of the question.

"If they are watching the matches, I think food would taste better than usual anyway. We just need to add some extra value."

"And what would that be?"

"Using rare ingredients, or making limited-time dishes."

The word "limited" alone made people want to try things.

It was human nature.

There was no need to completely separate commoners and nobles into different stalls, but changing presentation and a few ingredients could elevate the impression.

"For example..."

From the pre-made snacks prepared for the children, Qiong Xing took out a pound cake.

He prepared three portions: one simply drizzled with honey, one decorated with jam and nuts...

The remaining piece was left plain and served as it was.

"I see. So even the same dish can change quite a lot just by how it is decorated."

After that, when they tasted them, Sergei unsurprisingly favored the honey-topped one, while Narka seemed to prefer the version flavored with alcohol that had no decoration.

"If you charge a little extra for decoration, I think even the noble big shots will pay it."

"True. But that alone does not bring enough profit for those who make it."